From a very young age, we learn how to enjoy a story both for pleasure and to help us make sense of the world and ourselves. In this article, we will look at why storytelling is important in marketing.
Why is Storytelling Important?
Storytelling is a strategy that brands utilize in order to help their target audience not only learn about their products and services but also form an emotional connection that will lead them to remain loyal to the company for years to come.
While traditional corporate messaging simply spews out ads about new offerings, sales, and other company news, storytelling helps the business owners or marketing team to focus on one overarching theme, and craft all of the messaging (text and imagery) around that topic.
According to Bryan Eisenberg, a professional marketing speaker, “Facts tell, but stories sell.”
A great example of a corporation that is using their storytelling effectively is Airtel. The commercials do not only promote the product of Airtel it also solves major crises faced by individuals' in their daily lives, but this company also managed to create an emotional connection – teaching useful lessons for life, leadership, and business.
An example of such is the 4G-blender commercial – taught a lesson about humility. A lot of people envy people they should be learning from. Both women had access to the same traditional and modern blender, one was skilled in the use of both and decided to use a faster and efficient method. The other woman was an illiterate and could not use the technological method and refused to learn in humility until she messed up the kitchen.
Life Application: A good leader should know when to ask for help, a junior colleague at work can be better than you in some areas, it takes a leader to be humble enough to learn.
Airtel Nigeria commercial brand story technique has shown that commercials should not be overtly related to selling products and services alone, it should be able to teach the viewers valuable lessons in life, family, and business.
What Does Storytelling in Marketing Involve?
In order to incorporate storytelling in your content marketing strategy, utilize the following elements of storytelling.
The six essential elements of storytelling are:
Design: Use captivating and interesting imagery such as photos, drawings, videos, etc. as part of your storytelling.
Personalization: Although it is important to keep a consistent narrative, it is also beneficial to customize the story to each platform or channel used to deliver it.
Usefulness: A brand story should entail why and how your product or service is useful to them. You must solve a problem they are experiencing, or do not yet know they are experiencing, in order to connect to your customers.
Personality: Do not just release generic and boring content; instead, create a persona for your brand – consider what personality your brand would have if it were a person. Would it be a young, fun millennial or a caring, wise parent? Pretend like you are speaking directly to one person instead of marketing to thousands or millions of people, and concentrate on personalizing your image to your target audience.
Storytelling: Before releasing your brand story to the public, consider how it fits into the conversation you hope to be having with your audience. Does it tell the same story as previous marketing tactics?
Share-Worthiness: A brand story should insightful – making your audience work for you by sharing and promoting your content. This action can be encouraged by a call-to-action (CTA) urging readers to share your content.[/vc_column_text]
If you need help creating your brand story, Redboxx creates stories that leave a lasting impression. Do contact us at hello@myredboxx.com.
